BC NDP President Aaron Sumexheltza on Wednesday night announced that the BC NDP Executive has voted to support the Chief Electoral Officer’s recommendation to disqualify Anjali Appadurai as a party leadership candidate as a sanction for violating the rules.

He added: “This has been a challenging period for members of the party, and I thank Elizabeth Cull, the party’s table officers and the Executive for their dedication to their roles. I know they did not make this decision lightly.”

Sumexheltza said: “As there is only one approved candidate in the leadership race, the CEO is considering moving up the election date and will have more to say on this tomorrow.”

The decision means that David Eby will be the next BC NDP Leader and the Premier.

THE BC Liberals said in a statement: “Following months of backroom deals and manoeuvring, David Eby and the NDP have succeeded in forcing out the only obstacle to his coronation as the next Premier of British Columbia.”

BC Liberal MLA Elenore Sturko said: “It’s disheartening to see the NDP subvert the democratic process within their leadership contest by terminating the candidacy of the only real challenger to the heir-apparent, David Eby, and slam the door on the thousands of British Columbians who joined the NDP to support Anjali Appadurai.”

She added: “The NDP’s entire 57-seat Caucus sat back and allowed those voices to be shut out of the democratic process and a young woman to be disqualified from running against Eby by a party that picks and chooses when it applies an equity mandate to candidacies. It’s clear that in the NDP it’s all about who you know and who you strike deals with and has nothing to do with merit or even the number of supporters you can sign up. David’s dirty deeds have revealed that it’s all a sham.”

The BC Liberals said: “Before becoming Attorney General, David Eby authored a manual on ‘How to Sue the Police’ and penned other radical activist materials critical of law enforcement. While in Cabinet, he failed to deliver even seven per cent of the affordable housing units promised by the NDP in 2017 and oversaw a dramatic increase in homelessness, violent crime severity, random assaults, and no-charge assessments.”

BC Liberal House Leader Todd Stone said: “It’s a stunning indictment of the sorry state of the NDP that David Eby is the best they could get to fast-track and trample democracy in order to move into the Premier’s Office. His track record as a failed Housing Minister during a worsening affordability crisis, and as the Attorney General responsible for the catch-and-release policy responsible for chaos on our streets, is hardly something to rally behind.”

He added: “The NDP is all talk and no action — on affordability, on crime, on healthcare, and more. Lots of lofty promises with no follow-through. While David Eby’s record should be far too abysmal to be Premier, his manipulated ascendancy to the Premiership epitomizes the NDP government’s record of backroom deals, flashy promises, and terrible results for British Columbians.”

The BC Liberals said: “Now, no longer having to be “frustrated” by having competition in his race, David Eby will become the next Premier of B.C. with a cloud over his head, having disenfranchised thousands in his own party, disqualified his only real challenger, and sidelined democracy to make it to the top.”

SONIA Furstenau, Leader of the  BC Green Party, said: “This is a sad day for democracy. Ms. Appadurai’s campaign spoke honestly about the overlapping health care, climate, and affordability crises that British Columbians are facing and this government’s failure to make progress on them. It’s no surprise that so many people were inspired by her message.  To those who joined Anjali’s campaign with so much hope: please don’t give up on politics. The stakes are too high. It’s important that your voice is heard and we are listening.”

Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, added: “The BC NDP’s message to climate voters has been clear: you are not welcome in the BC NDP. The fact that they have treated these voters with such hostility and suspicion has shown us all exactly where their priorities lie. This is the same party that voted with the BC Liberals to expand fossil fuel subsidies in 2018 – there was no way they were ever going to let a climate activist lead their party.”

Olsen said: “The governing party of British Columbia has cleared the way for their chosen candidate to walk right into the highest office in the province – unchallenged. David Eby will preside over a government that has  suppressed criticism and accountability by making information hard, and sometimes impossible, to access. The way the BC NDP has handled its leadership contest is no different. The BC NDP doesn’t want to discuss real climate action. It has made that clear in disqualifying Anjali Appadurai. We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. The BC Green Party will keep fighting to hold this government to account for failing to meet its climate target, for refusing to revoke the licenses for companies like Drax who are turning our forests  into pellets.”

Furstenau added: “From climate action and affordable housing to healthcare and the poisoned drug crisis – we can do better. Our promise to everyone who knows that their government can do more on these issues: Adam and I, and the  B.C. Greens will keep working relentlessly to deliver the progress our province so desperately needs.”